During the prestigious State of Unreal showcase held on June 3 in Orlando, USA, CD PROJEKT RED unveiled an impressive tech demo. While it’s not a direct trailer or gameplay snippet from The Witcher 4, the presentation gave fans an exciting glimpse into the future of the franchise. The demo featured Ciri and her horse Kelpie in action, running on Unreal Engine 5.6. Not only did it showcase the visual potential of upcoming titles, but it also hinted that part of a future game may take place in the frigid kingdom of Kovir.

Unreal Engine 5.6 in Action: A New Era for The Witcher

As part of the annual State of Unreal tradition, Epic Games often collaborates with top-tier developers to showcase the full capabilities of its engine. This year, the honor went to the creators of The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077. CD PROJEKT RED prepared a custom demo allowing audiences to experience the smooth performance and detailed visuals made possible by Unreal Engine 5.6. The Polish developer gave fans a tantalizing peek at what the world of their next major Witcher installment could look like—a world filled with beauty, blood, fire, and deadly monsters.

Ciri and Kelpie in the Heart of Kovir: Demo Details

At the heart of the demo was Ciri, who—as the footage suggests—may be a central figure in the upcoming saga. We see her tracking a monster that attacked a merchant caravan, leaving behind only a mysterious coin. Riding her new, loyal steed Kelpie (replacing Roach), the witcheress journeys through snow-covered forests en route to the village of Valdrest in Kovir.

This sequence allowed CD PROJEKT RED to showcase several advanced technologies:

• Advanced Motion Sync: Smooth, realistic animations for both Ciri and Kelpie
• Machine Learning-Based Muscle Deformation: A system enabling highly realistic horse muscle movements without significant performance loss—a notable improvement over The Witcher 3’s horseback riding mechanics
• Nanite Foliage: Technology allowing dense, detailed vegetation rendering while maintaining high frame rates

The demo concluded with a view of Lan Exeter—a bustling port and Kovir’s winter capital, never before seen in the games but familiar to readers of Andrzej Sapkowski’s books. With its atmosphere reminiscent of the Skellige Isles, the city sets the tone for a new frontier. The final scene shows Ciri spotting a Manticore in the sky, approaching the location where the beast may be hunting.

Immersion and Performance at the Highest Level

CD PROJEKT RED emphasized that this was purely a tech demonstration, meant as a first look at what Unreal Engine 5.6 can bring to their future titles—not a final preview of the next Witcher game. Still, it offered a vision of how immersive the next installment might be: a dynamic world, responsive to player actions and filled with complex interactions. Notably, the entire demo ran on a standard PlayStation 5 at 60 FPS with active ray tracing, a testament to both excellent optimization and the raw potential of Unreal Engine 5.6.

The Road to The Witcher 4

Back in 2022, CD PROJEKT RED announced a strategic partnership with Epic Games, confirming that the new Witcher saga would be developed on Unreal Engine 5. While story details about The Witcher 4 remain scarce, speculation suggests the game will take place several years after the events of Wild Hunt. The playable character—potentially the main one—could be an older, fully matured witcheress: Ciri.

The earliest expected release window is 2027. Meanwhile, Unreal Engine 5.6 is now available to all developers, which will likely accelerate progress on a range of high-profile titles.

Sources: Unreal (Epic Games), CD PROJEKT RED materials